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Last signataires : Jacqueline - Nathalie - Eve

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is considering using your tax dollars to make sure that Texas oil giant Kinder Morgan is able to move forward with its Trans Mountain pipeline project. This project, which would increase the transportation of oil from Alberta’s tar sands, belongs to a bygone age and is incompatible with Canada’s commitments in the fight against climate change.

By signing this petition, you are asking the government not to provide any funding, whether in the form of investment, tax relief or loan guarantees, to support this project.

It is imperative that Canadian taxpayers not be forced to shoulder the burden of the enormous financial risk this project represents.

Why Kinder Morgan pipeline shouldn’t go through

The expansion will see three times more barrels of oil moved per day and will increase the risk of spills: The project involves the twinning of an existing pipeline, tripling its capacity from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels per day (1). The current Trans Mountain pipeline has spilled 82 times since 1961, according to the company’s own reports. The likelihood of an oil spill from expanded bitumen shipments in the Burrard Inlet over 50 years is estimated at between 79% to 87%.

It is incompatible with Canada’s climate commitments: The Trans Mountain pipeline project will lead to a massive increase in the development of Alberta's tar sands, compromising Canada’s ability to meet its targets and fulfill its commitment under the Paris Accord to reduce the country’s GHG emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. Environment and Climate Change​ ​Canada​ ​estimated that the additional transportation capacity of the expansion project will generate between 13 and 15 ​megatonnes​ of CO2 eq upstream per year (2).

Significant flaws in the assessment of the project: The National Energy Board (NEB) approved the project without considering important scientific data, including its impact on the marine ecosystem.

The Royal Society of Canada’s 2015 expert panel report identified 7 major research gaps regarding scientific uncertainties on bitumen. A U.S. National Academy of Sciences study, considered the most authoritative assessment on diluted bitumen undertaken, was refused by the NEB as evidence during the Trans Mountain review. Moving ahead with the project without having thoroughly understood the implications is premature at best and possibly negligent.

The NEB’s review did not assess the effects of a sevenfold increase in tanker traffic on the 76 remaining critically endangered southern resident orcas in the Salish Sea as part of its environmental assessment of the project. These orcas are endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act and the tanker route transects critical habitat they need to survive and recover.

This project will violate Indigenous peoples’ rights: The Government of Canada does not have the informed consent of affected Indigenous peoples. These Indigenous communities would be on the receiving end of this project’s worst environmental impacts. They have expressed strong opposition and noted the approval process did not include meaningful or adequate consultation with them, as required by Canadian law. The Federal Court of Appeal that quashed the NEB’s approval of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project for inadequate First Nations consultation is expected to rule on similar challenges for Kinder Morgan in the coming months.

Commitments made to First Nations and Indigenous Peoples by the government of Canada (3):

To foster a renewed nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown and government-to-government relationship between Canada and its Indigenous Peoples;

To implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in full partnership with Indigenous Peoples;

To amend legislation governing environmental assessments with a view to ensuring greater consultation with and participation of Indigenous groups in the evaluation and monitoring of major resource projects.

Continued support of the Trans Mountain pipeline project stands to undermine the process of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples initiated by your government. This is too high a price to pay.